Pining for Spring

After several days of beautiful spring weather, we got hail and snow. Our little flower has had to stay indoors again; and is now pining for sunny days and stroller rides.

Despite the cold weather outside, Ava has been dressing like it's springtime inside the Furr home.

And so she continues to dress for warmer days while pretending that the white stuff on the ground is not really snow.

However, make-believe will only take you so far...and soon the realization that you won't be going on that stroller ride with mommy today sets in. How sad.

And so she continues to wonder, "what will freshly-cut green grass feel like between my baby toes?"

Hopefully she'll soon find out.

Flower Girl for Hire

Once upon a time a little seed was planted in the Furr household. As the seed grew, she struggled to break through the earth and raise her face to the sun...

...despite her struggles, the little seed kept pushing and lifting and stretching and yearning to lift her head. And then one day the little seed burst forth and blossomed into a flower...

...and oh how happy she was to see the sun.

However, the flower was really a little girl named Ava who dreamt of being someone's flower girl (hint, hint Owen).

But whilst waiting, began perfecting her kisses for when she would someday herself be the bride and live happily ever after.

Baby Bug

We had beautiful weather this past weekend, which has the Furr family pining for spring. Ryan came by to wash his car Saturday morning and Larry turned on the sprinklers for the first time after fertilizing the lawn. The fertilizer included some weed and bug killer. However, there's one little bug we'll keep around.

Speaking of bugs...this past week we had a funny experience with a bug (not Ava, but a real bug). I arrived home from work one day as Krista was telling me about this scary bug that she had caught earlier in the day. She said she saved it for me to see (and dispose of). So I went out to the coffee table where she had the bug trapped in a plastic cup with a piece of paper on top to keep the bug in. And wouldn't you know it, the bug had escaped. As you might imagine, Krista spent the evening feeling quite "antsy" about the fugitive bug. Luckily, she found the bug the very next day and trapped it a little better the second time around.

At any rate, it was a lovely weekend which made for some good walks. Ava really enjoyed being outside in the nice weather, although she's not a fan of getting the sun in her eyes.

Ava Accessorized

Ava is a true girly-girl. She loves shopping and wearing the latest fashions. And she of course knows that accessories make the outfit.

Despite what Larry says, there's no such thing as a bow that's too big.

Plus, the weight of the bow is helping to strengthen her neck muscles.

Leaving Las Vegas

Ava had such a fun time down in Las Vegas, but since returning home she has been a little sad. She has not been sleeping well and has been very fussy. Our theory is that she misses the shopping.

We think she may also miss being around so many people. Now she is home alone all day with only her mommy and her friend Mr. Cow to keep her company.

While Mr. Cow is fun to look at, he just isn't quite as entertaining as all of Ava's extended family.

(And yes, we realize the oxymoron that the name Mr. Cow presents.)

Swimsuit Issue

While we were down in Vegas, Ava decided to take her first swim. She had to sit in her daddy's lap since the water was a little too cold for her, but she seemed to enjoy herself nonetheless.

Ava was joined in the lazy river by Owen and Brady (the boyfriends of her Aunt Betsy and Aunt Lauren) and her Uncle Jordan and Uncle Ethan. As a side note, Brady recently got his mission call to Munich, Germany.

Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kelly did not have their bathing suits so they were kind enough to take these pictures. We're sorry we didn't get any close-ups of Ava in her new suit, but we'll be sure to take some the next time she goes swimming.

Despite BYU's heartbreaking loss to UNLV, we had a really fun time in Las Vegas. Krista got to see Celine Dion at Caesar's Palace, we ate lots of great food, and we enjoyed the sunny weather and time with our family.

Viva Las Vegas (the city, not the team)

Despite Krista's concerns, Ava was very good during the six-hour trip down to Las Vegas. She actually slept during most of the trip, and happily looked around the rest of the time. Since arriving, Ava has been enjoying some quality time with her mommy.

Krista bought her a little swimsuit today, which we will be sure to get pictures of her in. We've been amazed at how good Ava has been each day. Lucky for us, she seems to enjoy being pushed around endlessly in her stroller.

Although she has not attended any of the basketball games with her dad, Ava's mere presence in Las Vegas seems to have helped out the Cougars, whose men's and women's teams have both advanced to the finals.

Picture by Jaren Wilkey; © BYU Athletics

Tomorrow the men take on UNLV and the women take on New Mexico. Here's hoping that BYU will sweep the Mountain West tournament. Go Cougs!

America's Next Top Model

Ava Noel Furr has just been selected as America's Next Top Model. (This is Krista's favorite show—you can watch the new season Wednesday nights on the CW).

Upon the announcement, she immediately landed the cover of next month's VOGUE magazine.

The magazine did a six-page spread of Ava modeling this spring's up-and-coming fashions.

Other fashion magazine's looking to enlist Ava's services include Glamour, ELLE, Bazaar, and Mademoiselle.

Look for her this fall on fashion's hottest runways in Paris, London, and New York.

Annissa's Baby Blessing

We attended Annissa's baby blessing today, which was followed by a luncheon at Elissa's parent's house. Here is Jordan (Krista's brother) with his wife Elissa and Grandma Olsen.

Annissa was absolutely delightful throughout the day and looked quite lovely in her blessing dress and bonnet. Check out those big blue eyes.

Here's Aunt Maddie doing what she does best—rocking babies to sleep. (Note to self: Why have we still not taken advantage of this yet?) Our two nephews Lucas and Seth joined in as well. Ava would have gotten in the picture as well, but was fast asleep at the time.

A four generations picture of Jordan with his daughter, his father Fred, and Fred's mother.

In other news...Larry got his car stuck in this gravel last week. It may look misleadingly harmless, but the gravel is like two feet deep. Luckily, Ryan (and several other neighborhood men) were there to help get him unstuck. Now when we hit bumps on the freeway we hear gravel spiraling out from underneath the car.

Also, we received an email from Elder Danny Furr who arrived in the mission field last Tuesday. His first area is in Kingston, Nova Scotia, which boasts the world's best steer barbeque. Yum.

Go Cougars

An homage to BYU athletics:

What a great year for BYU sports! First the football team wins the conference title and ends the regular season by defeating the Utes in their own stadium when senior QB John Beck threw a game-winning, desperation touchdown pass as the game clock expired to senior TE Jonny Harline who was wide-open in the end zone.

Next BYU traveled to the Las Vegas bowl to hand Oregon a decisive 38-8 loss just one day after Ducks head coach Mike Bellotti had talked smack about BYU being a "mediocre" team. This also marked BYU's first bowl win since 1996.

Then basketball season began. My brother Ryan and I were at the Huntsman Center to watch BYU beat Utah on the road for the first time in 13 years. Just a few days ago the women's team beat Utah at home to clinch the women's conference title. And today the BYU men's team played their second game against Utah; this time at home. Five minutes before game time I realized that Krista had dressed our little cougarette in Ute red. So, I quickly took Ava upstairs and dressed her in Cougar blue (sorry, no pictures). I also taught her the BYU fight song (she's having trouble with the words, but seems to like the hand motions at the end). I believe her display of Cougar pride proved to be a good luck charm as the Cougars went on to slaughter Utah 85-62, clinching the conference title outright for the first time in 19 years. It also extended BYU's home winning streak (currently the nation's longest) to 31 games. And this marks the first time in 27 years that BYU has won the conference championship in both football and basketball in the same year.

This week we'll be taking our little cougarette down to Las Vegas to cheer on the Cougars in the Mountain West Championship tournament. Oh, and for those who mainly visit this blog to see pictures of Ava (which we realize is pretty much all of you); don't worry, more Ava pictures are coming.

Pictures by Mark Philbrick; © BYU Athletics